Milton grieves tragic murder of two sisters by brother

Monday

Mar 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMMar 30, 2009 at 3:19 PM

Milton schools will have counseling available for students, teachers and their families, starting this afternoon and continuing tomorrow, after a 23-year-old man stabbed two of his younger sisters to death. Another sister survived and called police, who shot and killed the brother.

Sue Scheible

Within hours Saturday of the horrific murder of two members of a Milton family, students in the Milton public schools and police were meeting with school officials to plan ways to help the students and families deal with the aftermath.

“This is very very tragic and it cuts across all grade levels at the school,” said School Supt. Mary Gormley, who has been in public education for 34 years. “You can see in the faces of everyone that they identify with the family.”

Sunday morning, Gormley was putting out an E-mail to all students, teachers and staff in the school system about the murder of 17-year-old Samantha Revelus and 5-year-old Bianca Revelus. The E-mail will contain information about where they find help over the next several days. Police met Saturday evening with school officials.

Milton High School is open today from 1 to 3 p.m. for students to come in and speak with teachers and counselors.

Saturday afternoon, Kerby Revelus, 23, was shot and killed by police after he stabbed and killed his two younger sisters in their Milton home at 7 Belvoir Road and stabbed his 9-year-old sister.

The victims were identified as Samantha Revelus, 17, a senior at Milton High School, and Bianca, 5.

The 9-year-old stabbing victim, Sarafina, called police. Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating said Samantha told her to call. When police arrived, they shot Revelus.

Sarafina was taken to Boston Medical Center and is expected to recover from her wounds.

The schools have engaged Maria Trozzi of Boston Medical Center, whom Gormely identified as “a friend of the schools” and a national expert on family and child bereavement. Trozzi works with “The Good Grief Program” which prepares adults in children's lives to offer psychological safety and support in the aftermath of a loss. She has written a book “Talking With Children About Loss”

The Good Grief Program is in its 20th year and offers clinical, training and consultation services to families, educators and health providers and communities

Gormley said Trozzi would be available Monday on a conference call.

At 7 p.m. Monday, there will be a meeting in Milton High School auditorium for students, parents and teachers. Gormley said speakers would discuss “how to make sense of the tragedy, how much to tell children, typical reactions they can expect to see in children, and symptoms to expect.”

Milton High School Principal John Drottar said the loss of Samantha Revelus, a senior at the school, was “a tragedy.”

Kerby Revelus was recently released from jail after serving time for firearms possession, according to published reports.

The children's parents were not home at the time. They arrived later with police. News video showed the mother collapsing on the street outside the home when she learned what had happened.

WCVB-TV reported that Keating said there was a birthday cake with five candles on it in the house.

Four police officers were treated for stress.

In June 2006, Revelus was found guilty of carrying a firearm without a license and given a 1-year sentence. He was caught with a handgun in the waist band of his pants in Randolph on Dec. 11, 2005.

He was arrested on Aug. 7, 2008, in Boston for illegal possession of a handgun after a brief armed confrontation with police in Mattapan.

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